Angio Center

Angio Center

Angio Center

Our Angio Center, located within our Middeltown facility and headed by Dr. Coatti, specializes in the minimally-invasive treatment of peripheral vascular disease. The center, fully accredited by the American Association for the Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAAASF), contains a comprehensive vascular lab and state-of-the-art imaging equipment to provide you with care of the highest quality.

For a comprehensive list of procedures and more information about the Angio Center, please visit ssaangiocenter.com.

Below is a partial listing of procedures performed in the Angio center:

Angioplasty and Stenting procedures are excellent tools to treat diseases involving the arteries. At the Angio Center, Dr. Coatti performs Angioplasty by making a needle puncture into an artery in the groin. Using x-ray guidance, Dr. Coatti then threads a balloon-tipped catheter from the access site through the arterial system to the leg artery that is blocked or narrowed.

Once the balloon is positioned under the plaque, Dr. Coatti inflates it to break up and compress the plaque and widen the blood vessel, improving blood flow through the artery. In some cases, Dr. Coatti may then insert a stent, a small metal-mesh tube, to prop open the artery following angioplasty.

Dr. Coatti’s patients experience excellent results from angioplasty and stenting, and he has performed thousands of these procedures in both the hospital and the outpatient Angio Center.

Endovenous Laser Treatment, or EVLT, is a quick, minimally invasive laser treatment that effectively treats varicose veins. Dr. Coatti has performed thousands of EVLT procedures in our comfortable, fully accredited outpatient Angio Center in convenient Middletown, Connecticut. Furthermore, varicose veins that are large and easily accessible from the surface of the skin often react well to a technique called ambulatory phlebectomy. A skilled vascular surgeon, Dr. Coatti is the best and safest choice for performing EVLT treatments and phlebectomies because his training and experience is focused completely on veins and venous conditions.

Varicose veins are a medical condition, not simply a cosmetic problem. They are often a sign of a more serious vein problem known as “venous reflux”. Venous reflux can not only cause varicose veins, but swelling, aching, heaviness, discoloration, and skin breakdown of the legs. If not treated this condition can lead to weeping wounds and ulcerations. As a medical condition, most insurance plans and Medicare cover the treatment of diagnosed varicose veins.

Kristine Lane, PA-C, MSHS, administers sclerotherapy for spider and varicose veins. Sclerotherapy can be used to treat small varicose veins (<3mm) and spider veins. A tiny needle is used to inject a sclerosing agent, called polidocanol, that causes the vein to collapse, seal shut, and be absorbed into the body. The number of sclerotherapy treatments needed is variable. Prescription compression stockings are worn for several days after treatment. Sclerotherapy is considered a cosmetic procedure; therefore, is not covered by insurance.

For more information on these procedures, please call our office at 860-347-9167.

Dialysis access procedures create an entranceway into your bloodstream that lies beneath your skin and is easy to use. The access is usually in your arm or leg and allows blood to be removed and returned quickly, efficiently, and safely during dialysis. Dr. Coatti has performed thousands of dialysis access procedures at the Angio Center

There are two types of portals:

Fistula, which your physician creates by joining an artery to a vein

Graft, which is a man-made tube that connects an artery to a vein

For both fistulas and grafts, the connection between your artery and vein increases blood flow through the vein. In response, your vein stretches and becomes strengthened. This allows an even greater amount of blood to pass through the vein. In the weeks after surgery, the fistula begins to mature. The vein increases in size and may look like a cord under your skin.

The whole process takes up to 3 months before the access is matured enough to use for dialysis. Once matured, a fistula should be large and strong enough for dialysis technicians and nurses to insert the large dialysis needles easily. You can usually begin using your graft in 2 to 6 weeks, when it is healed sufficiently. Usually fistulas are preferred to grafts because fistulas are constructed using your own tissue, which is more durable and resistant to infection than are grafts. However, if your vein is blocked or too small to use, the graft provides a good alternative.

For more information on these procedures, please call our office at 860-347-9167.

The SSA Angio Center is proud to offer our patients an in-office, fully accredited (by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Vascular Laboratories) Vascular Imaging Laboratory, located in our convenient Middletown, CT office. Our Vascular Lab allows us to conduct critical vascular imaging exams right in our office and with an in-office lab. Dr. Coatti, an expert in the evaluation of non-invasive vascular imaging, can review the results immediately and make the best possible medical recommendations with no delay or patient inconvenience. Our imaging technician is experienced in vascular testing, as well as being extremely professional, gentle and compassionate, and we have the most advanced technology available to diagnose and treat vascular conditions in the least invasive way.

For more information on this procedure, please call our office at 860-347-9167.

A surgical bypass reroutes blood flow around a blocked artery by creating a new pathway for blood flow using a synthetic graft or the patient’s own vein. This surgical procedure may be used in cases where the blockage within the artery is judged as too severe to treat with angioplasty or stenting.

Dr. Coatti has performed thousands of surgical bypasses, and performs these procedures at Middlesex Hospital. After the performance of a surgical bypass, blood flow to the affected extremity is restored to normal levels. This provides relief of symptoms for patients suffering from PAD (peripheral artery disease). Dr. Coatti’s patients report excellent results, and are discharged home from the hospital in several days.

When an artery becomes blocked due to atherosclerosis, patients begin to feel pain in their legs. As the blockage becomes worse, the patient can have difficulty walking any appreciable distance. The symptoms may become so severe that the patient experiences pain in a foot even at rest. The blockage is caused by a build up of cholesterol plaque in the arteries.

For more information on this procedure, please call our office at 860-347-9167.

An aneurysm forms when the walls of an artery become thinned and weakened. The diameter of the artery progressively increases and the wall thins under the constant pressure from blood flow. The artery essentially “balloons out”. As it gets larger, the possibility of it bursting or rupturing increases. If an aneurysm bursts or ruptures it is often fatal. Surgical repair in a timely fashion prevents this potentially deadly complication.

Aneurysm repair procedures may be performed as a minimally invasive (endovascular) procedure or a traditional “open” surgical procedure. Dr. Coatti has successfully performed thousands of aneurysm repair procedures (both open and endovascular), and performs these procedures at Middlesex Hospital. The patient’s examination and CT scan determine the procedure of choice for any individual patient. The less invasive endovascular repair can be used in the vast majority of patients.

For more information on this procedure, please call our office at 860-347-9167.

Chronic vascular access is intended to provide repeated access to the circulatory system. Dr. Coatti has successfully performed thousands of vascular access procedures, and performs these procedures at Middlesex Hospital.

Patients who need to receive medication into their bloodstream repeatedly might be candidates for this procedure, in which Dr. Coatti inserts a catheter directly into a vein, creating a direct entryway into that vein. Other doctors can then use that enryway to deliver medication, such as chemotherapy, into the patient’s bloodstream multiple times over an extended period of time without having to damage the vein each time.

For more information on this procedure, please call our office at 860-347-9167.

An In Vena Cava (IVC) filter, placed in the Inferior Vena Cava (the large vein that carries blood to the heart) can protect patients from a pulmonary embolism if they are unable to take medicinal anticoagulants, which prevent blood from clotting.

An IVC filter prevents clots from travelling to the lungs in patients who are at high risk after surgery or trauma, or in patients who suffer Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT).

For more information on this procedure, please call our office at 860-347-9167.

An Endovascular Thrombectomy is intended to break up a clot, restore blood flow, and potentially preserve valve function and minimize the risk of post-thrombotic syndrome. Dr. Coatti has successfully performed thousands of these procedures, and he performs them at Middlesex Hospital.

In this procedure, Dr. Coatti inserts a catheter into a leg vein and threads it into the vein containing the clot. The catheter tip is placed into the clot and a “clot busting” drug is infused directly to the thrombus (clot). The fresher the clot is, the faster it dissolves. Any narrowing in the vein that might lead to future clot formation can be identified by venography, an imaging study of the veins, and Dr. Coatti can then treat it with a balloon angioplasty or stent placement.

For more information on this procedure, please call our office at 860-347-9167.

A carotid endarterectomy is a procedure to treat blockages in the carotid artery by removing its inner lining if it has become thickened or damaged, eliminating plaque and restoring blood flow. Dr. Coatti has successfully performed thousands of carotid endarterectomies, and he performs these procedures at Middlesex Hospital.

Patients of Dr. Coatti and the Angio Center begin with a comprehensive consultative exam with Dr. Coatti and his experienced clinical staff, and may undergo vascular testing in our fully-accredited, on-site Vascular Lab. If Dr. Coatti recommends a patient for surgery, our experienced staff will assist the patient in scheduling a convenient surgery date at Middlesex Hospital. After the procedure is complete, we will schedule a follow-up appointment with Dr. Coatti to evaluate the results of the procedure.

Dr. Coatti’s complication rate for carotid endarterectomy is as low as any published study, confirming him as an expert in the completion of this important procedure.

For more information on this procedure, please call our office at 860-347-9167.

Carotid artery stenting is an endovascular, or minimally invasive technique used to re-open blocked carotid arteries and prevent stroke. Dr. Coatti has successfully completed many carotid stents, and he performs these procedures at Middlesex Hospital.

Carotid artery stenting requires only a local anesthetic. Dr. Coatti makes a tiny puncture into an artery in the groin area, rather than opening the artery in the neck. He uses balloon angioplasty and places a stent, a small, self-expanding metal tube that keeps the vessel open and prevents a stroke. A tiny umbrella-like filter is used to catch and remove loose pieces of plaque that develop during the stenting procedure.

For more information on this procedure, please call our office at 860-347-9167.

The renal arteries are those that supply the blood to the kidneys. Renal artery stenting is an endovascular, or minimally-invasive technique used to re-open partially or completely blocked renal arteries. Dr. Coatti has placed thousands of renal artery stents, and performs these procedures at Middlesex Hospital.

To perform this procedure, Dr. Coatti inserts a catheter through a small puncture site and guides it through the blood vessels to the renal artery. The catheter carries a tiny balloon that inflates and deflates, flattening the plaque against the walls of the artery. Then he inserts a tiny metal tube called a stent into the artery to hold it open.

For more information on this procedure, please call our office at 860-347-9167.